Yosemite, Joshua Tree announce reopening plans and rules
(Ellen Ellery)
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - Two popular parks in California are announcing their plans to reopen.
Yosemite National Park may finally reopen as early as June, but visitors would need a reservation and crowds would be limited to roughly half of normal.
The plan drafted by Yosemite park officials has not been made widely public and still needs approval from the Trump Administration’s Department of the Interior, the Mercury News reported.
Further south in Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree National Park is slowly reopening after a lengthy closure to slow spread of the coronavirus.
The California park announced this week that it is using a phased approach.
Park entrances, roads, parking lots, trails, individual campsites and most restrooms are open.
Visitor centers and group campsites remain closed and all campsite reservations made through the recreation.gov are canceled.
The park says all campsites are first-come, first-served until Sept. 4, and campers must pay as normal at each campground.
Yellowstone, Grand Canyon also reopened in a limited way this week, some without hotels or restaurants.
And over the weekend, parking lots at more than two dozen state parks re-opened after closing at the end of March.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.